MEL LANE (R), Jackson Township

NETTIE WALLS (D), Van Buren Township

PHIL KRUEGER (R), Van Buren Township

With many years’ experience in aviation and motorsports businesses, Phil Krueger feels confident he can handle running the Van Buren Township Trustee’s office.

Krueger, who worked with racing teams in Indianapolis, now works part-time for Cherry Hill Aviation. He also started a one–man company building 1917 aircraft. Both of his jobs, he said, are flexible, and would allow him ample time to commit to the trustee’s office and operations.

"It’s fundamentally no different than the way a family operates," he said, about managing the township residents’ tax dollars, accounts and expenditures.

He and his wife of 25 years, Cynthia (Carmichael), moved to Brown County from Indianapolis in January 2004. They had bought her parents’ Van Buren Township homestead.

A Republican, Krueger was approached this election cycle about considering a run for Van Buren Township trustee. He did some research, and decided to toss his hat in the ring.

"The way I look at it," he said, "any political appointee or voter choice is just responsible for someone else’s money. They don’t earn the money; they use ours," he said.

Trust, he said, is a key component.

Public relations, he said, is another – a skill he honed in the operation of motorsports budgets and sponsorships.